Atlas V Rocket Launches Two Military Satellites of U.S. Space Forces

The Atlas V rocketwas launched at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and launched two U.S. Space Forces satellites into orbit.

What we know

The launch took place on July 1 at 19:15 local time. Four minutes and 30 seconds later, the first and second stages separated from the rocket and the upper stage engine was turned on Centaur. Both satellites were launched into a geostationary orbit (35,900 km) 6 hours after launch, as planned. During the flight the engine was turned on three times.

One of the satellites has a wide field of view and will act as a testbed for technology to detect the launch of military hypersonic missiles. It is equipped with a 2m image sensor by L3Harris Technologies. Its equipment is used in the Hubble and James Webb telescopes.

There is almost no information about the second satellite. It is named USSF-12 Ring, and all data is classified. The manufacturer is Northrop Grumman. The Pentagon noted that the satellite will "advance future missions."

Source: space.com